How much do Americans spend on their pets on Valentine’s Day?

Breaking mews! This year, Americans plan to spend an estimated $2.14 billion on gifts for their cats and dogs on Valentine’s Day, more than double the amount spent last year.

The number sounds huge and you might be thinking “dog-gone-it!”, but numbers don’t lie. Research reflects an astounding 185.3% increase of $1.39 billion from last year, when Americans spent an estimated $751 million.

Some 41.0 million adults will shower their pet dogs with gifts, representing roughly 16.1% of all American adults.

Roughly 12.3% of Americans, or 31.5 million adults, say they’ll pick up presents for their kitties.

You have got to be kitten me right now

Collectively, more Americans are buying gifts for their pet doggos again this year than for their cats and they’re spending more, as well. However, the average expected spent for both dogs and cats have grown compared to last year.

On average, adults are expected to drop $31.24 on their pet dogs compared to $27.42 on their pet cats. If we do the math, adults in 2021 will shower their dogs with $1.28 billion in gifts and their pet cats with $863 million in gifts.

Man’s Best Friend

On average, men spend more on V-day gifts for their dogs, while women spend more gifts for their cats. Men are planning on spending an average of $33.62 on Valentine’s gifts for their dogs and an average of $26.80 on Valentine’s gifts for their cats. Women favor the cats this year – spending an average of $28.36 on the purr-fect gift and an average of only $27.54 on a pup related piece.

However, although women might spend more on average on their cats, more men are likely to buy a gift at all for both dogs and cats. 20.54% of men plan on buying gifts for the dogs compared to 11.98% of women. And 15.52% of men plan on buying gifts for their cats compared to only 9.44% of women. That ends up translating into $1.34 billion spent by men on gifts for their furry friends compared to only $799 million spent by women.

• Who's spending more? - Visual
• Who's spending more? - Data

Gen X to shower their canines and felines the most

Millennials are planning on spending the most on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets, spending an average of $37.68 on their dogs and $30.16 on their cats.

Felines take the lead again with baby boomers who are planning to spend $29.52 on average on V-day gifts for their cats and an average of $26.93 on their dogs! They were the only generation who planned on spending more on their cats than their dogs.

Gen Z is planning to spend an average of $27.06 on their dogs and $23.91 on their cats. Gen X expects to spend an average of $30.68 on their dogs and $26.98 on their cats.

• Who's spending more? - Visual
• Who's spending more? - Data

By region

In total, all regions are planning on spending more on their pet dogs than on their pet cats. This disparity is greatest in the South where people are planning on spending a estimated total of $543 million on their dogs compared to only $295 million on their cats.

• How much does each region plan to spend on their pets this Valentine's Day? - Visual
• How much does each region plan to spend on their pets this Valentine's Day? - Data

Gabrielle Pastorek
Shopping expert, Finder

3 money-saving tips when shopping for pets

1. Save today, and keep saving tomorrow. Several pet supply sites like Chewy, Petco and SmartPak offer an initial discount on your first autoship order, then an extra smaller discount on every subsequent delivery. So you can save big on your pet’s Valentine’s Day goodies, then keep saving on food, litter and other essentials every month.

2. Go for generic toys.Name-brand toys are almost always more expensive than generic brands, but we’ll bet your pooch won’t be able to tell the difference. I personally buy Frisco squeaky tennis balls from Chewy vs. a virtually identical ball from Kong that costs almost a dollar more per ball.

3. Scoop up free shipping. Many pet supply websites offer free shipping when you order a certain amount of merchandise. This threshold is usually pretty easy to hit if you also do your monthly shopping for pet essentials while snagging a few toys and treats for Valentine’s Day. Another easy way to save on shipping is to choose free curbside or in-store pickup where available.

Methodology

Finder’s data is based on an online survey of 1,800 US adults born between 1928 and 2002 commissioned by Finder and conducted by Pureprofile in September 2020. Participants were paid volunteers.

We assume the participants in our survey represent the US population of 254.7 million Americans who are at least 18 years old according to the July 2019 US Census Bureau estimate. This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2.32% margin of error.

The survey asked respondents how much they planned to spend on gifts, with spending on Pet Cat and Pet Dog as some of the available fields.

Average calculations of spending were based just on the participants who were planning on spending in that particular category — for example, to calculate mean spending on Valentine’s gifts for dogs, participants who selected “Not purchasing gifts for Valentines Day” and participants indicated that they were spending “0” on pet dogs were not included. Total Valentine’s gift spending for pets was calculated based on estimated spending in the categories of Pet Dog and Pet Cat.

We define generations by birth year according to the Pew Research Center’s generational guidelines:

• Gen Z — 1997-2002
• Millennials — 1981-1996
• Gen X — 1965-1980
• Baby boomers — 1946-1964
• Silent generation — 1928-1945

We define geographical regions according to the divisions of the US Census Bureau.

Past Valentine’s Day Statistic

• Valentine's Day statistics 2020

  THE VERDICT

  We plan to spend $751.3 million on our four-footed companions this February 14th.

  Breaking mews! This year, American households plan to spend an estimated $751.3 million on gifts for their cats and dogs on Valentine’s Day.

  The number sounds huge and you might be thinking “dog-gone-it!”, but numbers don’t lie. Research reflects a 16% increase of $103.4 million from last year, when Americans spent an estimated $647.9 million.

  Some 27.6 million households will shower their pet dogs with gifts, representing roughly 11% of all American households.

  Roughly 6.7% of Americans, or 17.1 million households, say they’ll pick up presents for their kitties.

  You have got to be kitten me right now

  Collectively, more Americans are buying gifts for their pet doggos again this year than for their cats and they’re spending more, as well.

  On average, households are expected to drop $17.37 on their pet dogs but $15.93 on their pet cats. If we do the math, households in 2020 will shower their puppies with $479.2 million in gifts and their pet cats with slightly more than half that: about $272.1 million.

  

  Man’s Best Friend

  On average, men are planning on spending an average of $23.93 on Valentine’s gifts for their dogs and an average of $19.04 on Valentine’s gifts for their cats. Women favor the kittens this year – spending an average of $13.92 on the purr-fect gift and an average of only $13.88 on a pup related piece.

  • Who's spending more? - Visual
  • Who's spending more? - Data

  Gender	Spent on dogs	Spend on cats
  Men	$23.93	$19.04
  Women	$13.88	$13.92

  Gen X to shower their canines and felines the most

  Gen X is planning on spending the most on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets, spending an average of $20.85 on their dogs and $21.44 on their cats.

  Felines take the lead again with Millennials who are planning to spend $17.25 on average on V-day gifts for their dogs and an average of $18.31 on their cats!

  Gen Z and Boomers favor canines in 2020, with Gen Z dropping an average of $14.75 on their dog and only $6.80 on their cats. Boomers follow close behind, planning to spend an average of $14.91 of their dogs and $10.52 on their cats, although slightly more then Gen Z but half of Gen X’s kitty-cat contribution.

  • Who's spending more? - Visual
  • Who's spending more? - Data

  Generation	Spent on dogs	Spent on cats
  Gen X	$20.85	$21.44
  Millennials	$17.25	$18.31
  Gen Z	$14.75	$6.80
  Baby boomers	$14.91	$10.52

  Don’t forget National Love Your Pet Day

  If you forget your pet on Valentine’s Day, you’ve got a second chance soon after. February 20th is National Love Your Pet Day — a holiday dedicated to lavishing special attention and pampering on your animals.

  An official holiday might not be necessary for owners who shower love on their pets every day. Still, you have many ways to say a special “I love you” to your four-footers.

  

  For dogs

  • Simple homemade treats
  • A new plush toy
  • An extra-long walk in the park

  For cats

  • Catnip toys
  • A new scratching post
  • A food maze

  Methodology

  Our data is based on an online survey of 2,398 US adults within the age range from 1928 to 2002 commissioned by Finder and conducted by Pureprofile in January 2020. Participants were paid volunteers.

  We assume the 2,398 participants in our survey represent the US population of 254.7 million Americans who are at least 18 years old according to the July 2019 US Census Bureau estimate. This assumption was made at the 95% confidence level with a 2% margin of error.

  The survey asked people how much are you planning to spend on gifts for family and friends for Valentine’s Day, with Pet Cat and Pet Dog as some of the available fields.

  Average calculations of spending were based just on the participants who were planning on spending in that particular category — for example, to calculate mean spending on Valentine’s gifts for dogs, the 28.59% of participants who selected “Not purchasing gifts for Valentines Day” and the 61.82% who responded “0” were not included. Total Valentine’s gift spending for pets was calculated based on estimated spending in the categories of Pet Dog, and Pet Cat.

  To avoid skewing the data, we did not include extreme outliers in our calculations

  We define generations by birth year according to the Pew Research Center’s generational guidelines:

  • Gen Z — 1997-2002
  • Millennials — 1981-1996
  • Gen X — 1965-1980
  • Baby Boomers — 1946-1964
  • The Silent Generation — 1928-1945

• Valentine's Day statistics 2019

  THE VERDICT

  We plan to spend $647.9 million on our four-footed companions this February 14th.

  Breaking mews! This year, American households plan to spend an estimated $647.9 million on gifts for their cats and dogs on Valentine’s Day.

  Although the number sounds huge, for at least some of these households, love doesn’t last fur-ever — it reflects a 21% decline of $175 million from last year, when Americans spent an estimated $822.9 million.

  Some 5.4 million households will shower their pet dogs with gifts, representing roughly 8.5% of all American households.

  Less than half as many American households that buy presents for dogs — or 2.2 million households — say they’ll pick up presents for their kitties.

  You have got to be kitten me right now

  Collectively, more Americans are buying gifts for their pet doggos than for their cats. But those buying gifts for their kitties say they’ll spend more this year.

  On average, households are expected to drop $81.56 on their pet dogs but $95.90 on their pet cats. If we do the math, households in 2019 will shower their puppies with $439.9 million in gifts and their pet cats with less than half that: about $208 million.

  

  Don’t forget National Love Your Pet Day

  If you forget your pet on Valentine’s Day, you’ve got a second chance soon after. February 20th is National Love Your Pet Day — a holiday dedicated to lavishing special attention and pampering on your animals.

  An official holiday might not be necessary for owners who shower love on their pets every day. Still, you have many ways to say a special “I love you” to your four-footers.

  

  For dogs

  • Simple homemade treats
  • A new plush toy
  • An extra-long walk in the park

  For cats

  • Catnip toys
  • A new scratching post
  • A food maze

• Valentine's Day statistics 2018

  It’s 2018, and it sounds like our love affair with our pets might be weaker than before. According to a new survey of 2,001 Americans commissioned by finder.com, Americans plan to shower fewer dogs and cats with gifts on February 14th.

  In fact, of those who plan to spending money on Valentine’s Day, just 11.0% will treat their dogs to something special — that’s nearly a third of the pooches gifted last year (28%).

  It doesn’t look so great for cats either. Only 6.5% of our feline friends will receive a gift on Valentine’s Day, compared with 17% that enjoyed presents last year.

  When you consider how much we plan to spend, cats again get the short end of the stick for Valentine’s: an average $32.48 will be spent on our dogs with only $29.01 on our kitties.

  Who shows the most pet love on Valentine’s Day?

  Women are the most generous when it comes to spending money on pets for Valentine’s. Of the ladies, 11.8% will spend on their dogs and 7.5% on their cats. Compare these figures to the men, with 10.2% planning to splurging on their dogs and 5.6% on their cats.

  

  Despite a drop in the number of pets we’ll indulge this year, millions of Americans still plan to pamper their four-footed friends on February 14. We estimate that 16.57 million people will buy presents for their dogs, while 9.82 million will gift their cats.

  Those who aim to regale their dogs and cats this year will fork out an estimated $822.9 million — that’s $69 million more than what we spent on our pets in 2017 ($753 million).

  It seems not all love’s lost for our furry companions this Valentine’s Day.

  Don’t forget National Love Your Pet Day

  If you forget your pet on Valentine’s Day, no need to worry: February 20 is National Love Your Pet Day. This holiday is dedicated to focusing special attention and pampering on your animals.

  An official holiday might not be necessary for all owners, because they love their pets every day. But if you’re looking for an opportunity to show extra love to your four-footers, see our affordable ideas below.

  

  For dogs

  • Simple homemade treats
  • A new plush toy
  • An extra-long walk in the park

  For cats

  • Catnip toys
  • A new scratching post
  • A food maze

  Methodology
  We calculated these figures from a November 2018 survey of 2,082 American adults commissioned by finder.com and conducted by global research provider Pureprofile. Spending per pet is based on American households not individuals.

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